To make the most of our time here in Australia we decided that Sydney needed a visit. Melbourne is technically almost as big, but Sydney has the edge on the more iconic Australian things, like the opera house and warmer climate. The night before we left however, we also had a visit from the tooth fairy. Isabelle has a few loose teeth that are taking their time coming out, but one finally decided to give in as she was getting to bed. If you are wondering the going rate of the Australian tooth fairy is $2 Australian dollars per tooth. For older kids the tooth fairy will even do a digital transaction without all the fuss of putting coins under pillows (or similar things). But on this particular night the tooth fairy happened to leave a $2 coin under Isabelle’s pillow.
Sydney Airport station access fee
This would be our first time flying domestic in Australia so we didn’t quite know what to expect. At the Melbourne airport the check in was completely self serviced, with machines to print your boarding pass and a bag drop where you scanned your own bag. Not bad, although half the check in machines were out of order and about a quarter of the bag drops were not working. Security was also not bad, even with a decent crowd of people. So we had plenty of time to enjoy some breakfast before getting on our flight. With some hefty tailwinds the flight only took 55 minutes (official flight time is more like an hour and a half). Now here is one thing that is a bit crazy at the Sydney airport. If you are to take the train to the city you have to pay a station access fee on top of your ticket. The train just regular public transport and so you pay what you would on any bus, light rail or other mode of transport in the city. But the airport station is owned and operated by a private actor and so they charge a fee for passengers to use the station. And it’s not a small fee either. For a family of four it is cheaper to take an Uber downtown than to ride the train due to this fee. So we ordered a ride and few minutes later we piled into a car that took us to our hotel. Sometimes pay extra for convenience, but in this case being dropped off on the doorstep actually cost less!
Darling Harbour is a mess
We stayed at the ParkRoyal Hotel in Darling Harbour. It was nice enough if you are looking for a central hotel in Sydney (their breakfast is quite good and included in the stay). But the area around Darling Harbour is a mess. Not a bad mess, but there are highways crisscrossing each other, sometimes three deep. We got checked in to our hotel and went to find some lunch. With the tangle of roads making walking paths a maze, and GPS on our phones being inaccurate due to all the tall buildings, figuring out which way to go was confusing. We eventually got some Mexican food and brought it back to the hotel. And a rest we headed down to the waterfront at Darling Harbour. Looking out over the water you could almost forget the jumble of roads just behind you and walking along the waterfront in the afternoon sun was quite pleasant. What was not so pleasant were the tourist trap restaurants on the waterfront. Overpriced with mediocre food. Classic!
Tumbalong Park
I think I have mentioned Melbourne being good at their green spaces and parks, but if there is one place Melbourne could improve it’s having more play areas downtown. Just a few minutes walk from our hotel (once we found the correct walking bridge to cross the road), is Tumbalong Park. A giant play area and green space. It also happened to be lined with restaurants at the edges so we would be back here on several occasions to eat and play. But the water feature was by far the most popular. Being a more summer-like temperature, even late in the evening, the kids found splashing in the water a blast!
